


Glitched Genesis

by Quill18



Series: Rogue Seeker [10]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Adopted Children, Angst, Body Horror, Frenzy - Freeform, Gen, Transhumanism, autobots are insecticons here, nonbinary characters - Freeform, soundwave adopted humans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-26 21:53:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30112575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quill18/pseuds/Quill18
Summary: Both Autobots and Decepticons adopted humans before World War 3/the Autobot Invasion, it often ended in disaster and grief. Stories of the humans adopted by Soundwave and others.  One-shot collection.---Fan continuity, don't expect canon.
Relationships: Soundwave & OCs
Series: Rogue Seeker [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1909069
Kudos: 2





	1. Soundwave: The Status Duel

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Left_Handed_Darkness](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Left_Handed_Darkness/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hexbolt sends Specs, a video of their failed status duel versus Soundwave.

[ _Fic Tumblr and Ask/Rp blog_ ](https://rogue-seeker.tumblr.com/fan%20fic%20timeline)

[ _Timeline Page_](https://rogue-seeker.tumblr.com/fan%20fic%20timeline)

[ _Original: https://voidwingsprime.tumblr.com/post/640809810984632320/the-status-duel_ ](https://voidwingsprime.tumblr.com/post/640809810984632320/the-status-duel)

Hex cracked their backstruts, stretched their neck cables and started working on splicing some Status Duel footage that Specs asked for.

It had been a decade ago, when Soundwave was still fresh out of the Shadow Zone and zir grief at the destruction of zir flock and Lord was raw and bleeding.

And Hex? Well…finding your MIA parent is actually Not Dead?

Rough, extremely rough.

The footage is from Hex’s pov. They are facing a thirty foot tall mirror. It’s in their old satelliteformer frame. The chassis plates are dented and covered in welded scrap metal. There’s slashmarks gouged into their chest and upper arms, all four of them. There’s a bolted on sign saying “BUGS DESTROYED.”

Legs are spiny and digigrade, with razor sharp prosthetics welded on, the original lower halves long blown off.

Their visor shows a clock ticking down to the duel in red letters.

All of their claws flex in anxiety. They had never fought in a non-lethal duel before against another Xenomech, let alone their adopted parent. It was always for their life and to avenge the humans harvested.

The next scene cuts to the NEST parking lot. Soundwave stands before them, armor plating polished and shining in the sun. Hex sees their reflection in their adopted parent’s blank visor. Around them is the hushed crowds of humans in the distance, a painted red circle and Starscream circling both of them.

“Status Duel of Flock Nemesis!” Kha sneers. “What’s left of it anyway.”

“Ex Decepticon TIC Soundwave vs. Dr. Hexbolt of NEST. To settle Flock Rankings between those two.”

“Due to the mangled frames of both parties and the creator-creation relationship between them…winner will be the one who tosses the other out of the circle! Or to first blood or first destroyed limb. Whatever, comes first.”

Starscream smirks. “Begin!”

The first person pov is extremely shaky.

Hex doesn’t charge at Soundwave. They circle the other mech and both of them merely follow the other, Soundwave is silent, zir pedes hit the concrete but there’s no sound.

Hex’s runner blades scrape against the blacktop. They don’t have their war hammer nor their cannons.

Soundwave slides zir left pede behind zir and moves up zir arm-wings into a defensive stance. Ze beckons a claw.

Hex just stands there, motionless, as they refuse to take the bait.

Zir upper arms slide up, as though to shrug and charges at Hex, zir legs pumping like pistons.

Hexbolt screams, a recorded remixed agony of Humans harvested along with the death keens of insecticon autobots. The crowd of humans cry out in pain. Soundwave falters and Hex dives onto all six limbs and sweeps their razor edged leg blade at the other mech into a low kick.

Soundwave jumps back as the blade misses zir by sheer inches and zir claws dig into the leg. Hex hisses as they are grabbed. All four of their clawed hands slash down at Soundwave.

Metal clangs as Soundwave drops the leg and parries with zir forearm-wing plating.

Hex shoves into zir arm-wings with another uppercut kick and data cables catch the leg and Hex finds themselves flung.

Metal scrapes against concrete as they find themselves tumbling over it.

They pick themselves up and Soundwave just shakes their helm at them.

One spindly digit points at the circle. The red paint is marred with skidmarks from their tumbling.

Hex swears. “Fuck.”

And then ends the video.


	2. Soundwave: Silvermaw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Soundwave discovers the fate of Silvermaw.

[ _Fic Tumblr and Ask/Rp blog_ ](https://rogue-seeker.tumblr.com/fan%20fic%20timeline)

[ _Timeline Page_](https://rogue-seeker.tumblr.com/fan%20fic%20timeline)

Original: <https://voidwingsprime.tumblr.com/post/641101349255364608/rogue-seeker-silvertonguedaggermaw-tfw-you-get>

Art done by:[ https://silvertonguedaggermaw.tumblr.com/post/641061015043309568/tfw-you-get-so-absorbed-in-a-really-good-ficverse](https://voidwingsprime.tumblr.com/post/641101349255364608/rogue-seeker-silvertonguedaggermaw-tfw-you-get)

Silvermaw belongs to silvertongueddaggermaw

-

**Soundwave’s Aerie - The Aegis - Post Hive War Era**

It’s dark. The rest of the ship’s flock is awake for the nocturnal cycle, Soundwave as usual has withdrawn to zir quarters, away from the Command Trine’s aerie and along with that of their shared creations. Skywarp, thank Primus has opted to go to bother zir Odium Endura, Starscream instead of bothering zir withanother - Soundwave’s plating rattles - sleepover.

Soundwave tucks zir legs underneath and calls upon a few holoscreens as ze settles into zir nest. Zir face screen retracts and zir mandibles unfold as zir digits bring scrap metal, of which a pile rests on the nearby nightstand, into zir maw. 

The roster of zir brood is empty as usual, none have opted to spend time with zir tonight. Soundwave ex-vents. Ze knows ze deserves this, zir actions towards zir brood with the nantal locks, the forced stasis and docking…it’s understandable that none of them wish to spend time with zir alone.

Ze flicks through the roster, Ravage is with kir sibling trine of Misfire and Howlback, Sundor is off racing Buzzsaw and Laserbeak on the flight deck. Frenzy, Rumble and Squawktalk are off gaming, K-Zero is off in the medic bay, Wingthing is on Earth with Lennox and Hexbolt…

Soundwave’s musing is interrupted by a notification.

> **_“Hey boss, you might want to see this.” - Frenzy  
>  _ **

It’s a picture of Silvermaw. Soundwave freezes. The eldest of zir adopted humans. Adopted as an adult after Silvermaw rolled into zir dms, with requests of a new maternal figure and ze out of sheer amusement and loneliness had accepted.

> **_“Hexbolt had tracked it down from their old archives, never knew ‘em, Boss, but eh, tell me some stories about them later. Night.” -Frenzy._ **
> 
> **_“Soundwave: Appreciative.”_ **

Frenzy sends back a thumbs up. Soundwave ex-vents and closes the messages but keeps the portrait open.

With a flick of zir claw, the holoscreen zooms in. Pride and sorrow swirls through zir energon lines.

Zir intakes hitch and Soundwave opens up data folders long untouched in centuries, a casualty of zir three hundred year imprisonment in the Shadowzone.

Old pngs and jpegs of Silvermaw’s old artwork. Ze cross-references the ancient files with the portrait.

It’s a style match. Refined, improved, but an artwork ze never laid optics on. It must’ve been done after ze disappeared from their life, along with that of their siblings.

Ze feels zir talons tremble. The portrait has Silver’s usual brazen IDGAF attitude, with the unamused look and flashing middle finger. Despair twists in zir processor. Frenzy and Rumble would’ve loved them….

They looked physically intact at least…the style of armor complete with biolights was unfamiliar..cosplay? No, Soundwave had seen that style before…Hex’s old war plating from the Autobot Purges…

…No…

Soundwave continues to zoom in.

Pain settles onto zir, like a well-worn mantle, like old scarred plating and lines that never healed right.

There. Under the shoulder.

Softly glowing wires and chest struts. Unorganic. Metal.

Soundwave’s claws fall to zir knees.

Human, Cybertronian, regardless of species, zir little ones were never free of the painful kiss of war.

The wikipedia articles that ze had read on zir brood had mentioned they had been drafted as drone pilots…but no photos had been included. And their faces had been scrubbed from the internet. Ze had tried to find them, but the blackout policies in the post-Purges datanets had made it nearly impossible.

Ze stares out the viewport of zir Aerie, where Jupiter’s storms rage beyond.

Ze would never know if Silvermaw would’ve hated zir, for what zir truly was.

A dysfunctional parent. Zir humans had adored zir. Soundwave who gamed with them, who provided financial support with zir bitcoin mining, ze who aided in homework and gave advice.

Ze who braved the Virtual Wilds of Maldraxxus and Revendreth with Silvermaw, in WOW and many other games.

But now? Not any more.

Jupiter turned as ze watched the chronometer tick by. Zir musing was interrupted by another notification.

> _**“Sorry, forgot to include the caption. Rumble fraggin’ turned off the console and wouldn’t turn it back on, until I included it. “ -Frenzy** _
> 
> _**“Silvermaw of the Adopted, MIA. Presumed dead. Last seen speeding off into space after Uploaded into a ship frame. Noted for being the eldest of Soundwave’s adopted humans. ”  
>  ** _

Soundwave’s claws crumpled the scrap metal that ze had been snacking on.

Shipframe. Upload.

Hope bloomed in zir core, through zir spark only for cold statistics to strangle it with its choking vines.

A chance. A very small chance that Silvermaw survived out there. In the endless black.

But to find someone out in the infinite void without a signal or beacon… like sifting for one energon speck in an endless sea of sand.

Soundwave dropped zir helm into zir claws and keened.


End file.
